More proof that my motherboard was wired in NY, plus a feria report
The story of how I changed ferias. By Eileen Smith In the merciless joy of making fun of how idiosyncratic New Yorkers are, I had a great time when my sister and brother in law moved in together on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. You see, they each moved about two...
So many animals in the Norte Chico, Chile. But no mermaids.
We have two norths here, which is funny, because to say you have a north, or that something is your north in Chile means, it is what you are oriented to, what helps you find your way. Tú eres mi norte is a way of saying "I am never lost when I am with you." So I think...
Voting in Chile. Under a cross, and across the street from the museum about the dictatorship.
So this year, for the first year since the dictatorship two important things happened. One, is that compulsory voting was eradicated. It used to be that if you were registered to vote (which many people were not, and you'll see why in a second), and you were less than...
My fall jealousy would abate, if only spring would spring
It is fall in the northern hemisphere. I get it. I see your gorgeous placid lakes and gurgling streams, lined with trees painted in vibrant oils in a palette of red-redder-reddest and the yellows and oranges as well. This is the one time of year when I get truly...
Feria Haul, or my balcony table is not big enough for the bounty
I went to the feria chanting (in my mind), cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, lemons. Because these were what I needed to buy for birthday (not mine) tabbouleh. The swiss chard, mandarines, avocado, eggplant, scallions, radishes, broccoli, penca (more on this in a sec) and...
Another place tourists don’t go (but should): República
Here's more on my Santiago. República is a neighborhood that heads south from along the Alameda, departing from about Los Héroes, República or Unión Latinoamerica metros. Moving south from the Alameda, the next two main streets are Sazié and Grajales, and I took a...
On thinking of places pre-earthquake. Costa Rica’s 7.6
Typical breakfast in Costa Rica Ever since an 8.8 earthquake hit Chile in February, 2010, I take earthquakes very personally. Were the people afraid? Did it roar and shake, and did the water splash in the sink and did the roof fall in and did your favorite tree just...
The Feria Report, Organic Version (Ecoferia La Reina)
For a long, long time, I have been meaning to go up to the Eco Feria in La Reina. It's mostly organic veggies, and is giant on Saturdays, and much smaller on Wednesdays, or so I'm told. There's babywearing devices and organic, free-range eggs and herbs and spices and...
San Diego, a part of Santiago not fit for tourists (first in a series)
For reasons I'll divulge sometime, but not now, I've recently been thinking a lot about places tourists don't go, but should, in Santiago. Should in the sense that they'd see a part of Santiago that's not packaged and presented and polished and de-graffitied and super...
I sneaked out to Colombia for a minute, don’t mind me
I have been in two places at once, or actually four places at once this last month. According to my blog, I'm in Chile, Santiago or La Serena or somewhere else. But in actual fact, I was a few thousand km away, first in Medellín, and then in Bogotá, and then visiting...
